Tuesday 23 March 2010

Spring is in the air - my mistake it is just a passing shower!

First off -a bit of breaking news, a few minutes ago I got an email which said simply "congratulations"! After a bit of digging I found out that we have been awarded CAMRA Branch pub of the Year for West Cumbria. It is always good to get an award, but this is a rare honor as the usual recipient is the Kirkstyle Inn at Loweswater - hard to beat such a good pub when it brews some of the best ale in the county! We are finding it hard not to have a beer from Loweswater on the bar, and when they are they dont stay long.


So now back to the title of the post, the daffodils are finally in bloom and the temperature rose above 10 C for the first time since the 20th November 2009, having said that the high fells still have deep snow lying especially on shaded slopes and the summits. The top of Scafell has had snow visible on top from the 20th December - a full 3 months, certainly ther longest period in the 12 years we have been here.
Here is Foxes Tarn just a couple of weeks ago, and below is Owain having fun in the snow



Spring may be just about here but it is still pretty cold on the tops so if you are coming up for Easter,  pack the hats and gloves. I went for a dive in Wastwater yesterday and the water temp was still only 4 C, pretty cold hands after half an hour.

Valley News :-  Congratulations to Clare on the birth of daughter Kimberley.
The Woolpack has now changed hands, Harry Berger The previous landlord of the Boot Inn is the new Owner. The pub is expected to re-open later this week.
The King George remains closed still with a for sale sign outside.
 Snow and Ice is gone from the passes so all routes into the valley are now open.
Boot Beer Festival dates are 10th-13th June 2010